The imperial capital of the Jia Ma Empire.
In a courtyard, Xiao Xun'er had just walked out of her room with her heavily pregnant belly.
One hand supported her waist while the other rested lightly on her swollen abdomen, her movements looking somewhat strained.
When she reached the middle of the courtyard and saw Lu Changfeng sitting cross-legged in meditation, a gentle smile appeared on her face.
"Brother Changfeng."
Hearing her call, Lu Changfeng slowly opened his eyes. Seeing Xiao Xun'er standing there with her heavily pregnant belly, he frowned slightly.
"Why did you come out instead of lying down and resting properly in your room? I told you to get more rest, but you just wouldn't listen."
After saying this, Lu Changfeng stood up, walked over, and helped her sit on a nearby stone stool.
As Xiao Xun'er sat down, she let out a soft breath, a trace of worry on her face.
Seeing her like this, Lu Changfeng also sat down, ready to hear what she would say next.
At that moment, however, Lu Changfeng could not help looking back inwardly. Ten years ago, he had transmigrated into the world of Battle Through the Heavens, and his arrival had been timed remarkably well: it was the very day Xiao Xun'er had first been sent to the Xiao Clan.
Back then, the Gu Clan had sent Xiao Xun'er to be fostered by the Xiao Clan. On the surface, she lived there as a relative from a collateral branch of the Xiao Clan.
But Lu Changfeng knew her true identity. After all, he had read the original novel before transmigrating.
The young lady of the Gu Clan, possessing a divine-grade bloodline and the Heavenly Flame known as the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame-behind this seemingly delicate little girl stood the entire Gu Clan.
So the first thing Lu Changfeng had done was beat Xiao Yan to the punch, taking the initiative to approach Xiao Xun'er and help her nourish her meridians.
His excuse at the time was that he had happened upon a cultivation method for nourishing meridians, which would only benefit her cultivation and do no harm. Xiao Xun'er had been young then, and since Lu Changfeng was also a member of the Xiao Clan, she had agreed without giving it much thought.
Through these repeated interactions, the two became increasingly familiar, and their relationship grew ever closer.
After that, he had bound himself to a system that granted heaven-defying comprehension.
Although this system had not directly provided him with any heaven-defying cultivation methods or pills, it had made his comprehension exceptionally high.
He cultivated any method several times faster than ordinary people, and his speed in sensing the energy of heaven and earth far exceeded others as well. After all this time spent working hard, he had charged all the way from an ordinary Xiao Clan disciple to the level of a Nine-Star Dou Sheng!
If word of this speed spread, the entire continent would probably be shaken!
Nine-Star Dou Sheng were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns across the entire Dou Qi Continent. Even in one of the Ancient Eight Clans like the Gu Clan, the number of Dou Sheng Experts could be counted on one's fingers.
And not long ago, he had taken Xiao Xun'er's virginity.
Of course, Xiao Xun'er had not resisted during the process. Their feelings had already grown very deep over their years together.
After losing her virginity, Xiao Xun'er had soon become pregnant with Lu Changfeng's child. Her belly was already quite large now, and it looked as though she would give birth in another few months.
But what Xiao Xun'er knew nothing about was that Lu Changfeng's strength had already reached Nine-Star Dou Sheng.
She only knew that Lu Changfeng had a good talent for cultivation, but she had never asked in detail exactly what level he had reached.
Now, Xiao Xun'er sat silently on the stone stool for quite some time, seemingly considering how to begin. Finally, she took a deep breath and raised her head to look at Lu Changfeng.
"Brother Changfeng, there's something I need to tell you."
Hearing the solemnity in her voice, Lu Changfeng nodded. "Go ahead."
"I'm actually from the Gu Clan, an ancient clan. My father is Gu Yuan, the Ancient Clan Chief. I'm the young lady of the Gu Clan, and I was sent to be fostered by the Xiao Clan when I was little to carry out a mission for my clan."
After saying all this, Xiao Xun'er looked at Lu Changfeng nervously, worried that he would become angry or feel that she had deceived him.
Yet Lu Changfeng's reaction was beyond her expectations. He merely nodded, without any look of surprise on his face.
"Brother Changfeng, I didn't mean to hide it from you. It's just that the clan has rules against revealing our identities casually."
"Now that I'm carrying your child, my father must already know that I've lost my virginity."
"The Gu Clan possesses a dou di bloodline. When I lost my virginity, the clan would have sensed it. I'm worried my father will send someone..."
Seeing her so weighed down with worry, Lu Changfeng could not help reaching out to stroke her head.
"Don't worry. Let them come."
But hearing this, Xiao Xun'er grew anxious. "Brother Changfeng, you don't know how powerful the Gu Clan is."
"My father is a Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint, and there are many Dou Sheng elders in the clan too. If they really come, you won't be able to withstand them at all. I don't want anything to happen to you."
Seeing Xiao Xun'er so anxious that she was nearly crying, Lu Changfeng smiled without saying much.
A Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint was indeed very powerful.
But his current strength was also at Nine-Star Dou Sheng. Although he fell short of someone at Gu Yuan's peak level, the gap was not that great. Besides, with his heaven-defying comprehension system supporting him, his cultivation speed far exceeded that of ordinary people.
Given a little more time, reaching Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint, or even Half-Step Dou Di, did not seem impossible, did it?
But he had no intention of telling Xiao Xun'er these things for now. For one, explaining would be too troublesome; for another, he wanted to give her a surprise.
So Lu Changfeng offered her a few words of comfort. "All right, don't think so much. If the sky falls, I'll hold it up for you."
"The most important thing for you now is to rest easy during your pregnancy and deliver the baby safely."
Seeing how unconcerned he was, Xiao Xun'er opened her mouth, wanting to say more. But when she saw the certainty on Lu Changfeng's face, she ultimately swallowed her words.
Brother Changfeng probably still doesn't know how terrifying the Gu Clan is, she thought. If Father really sends someone, I'll protect Brother Changfeng no matter what!
After all, he was the father of his child, and someone she truly loved!
Seeing that she still looked somewhat worried, Lu Changfeng simply said no more. He returned to his original spot, sat down, and closed his eyes.
Rather than saying useless things here, he might as well seize the time to cultivate a little more. Strength was the ultimate truth. Once he raised his strength to a higher level, Gu Clan or otherwise, he would not fear them coming.
After calming his mind, Lu Changfeng soon entered a state of cultivation, and the Dou Qi within his body began circulating slowly.
After he entered his cultivation state, Xiao Xun'er sat quietly beside him and watched. Seeing his focused expression as he cultivated, she felt both reassured and somewhat worried.
She was reassured that Brother Changfeng worked so hard at cultivation, but worried about how he would deal with the Gu Clan's people when they arrived in the future.
Time passed little by little. Immersed in cultivation, Lu Changfeng completely forgot about the outside world.
His heaven-defying comprehension talent also played an enormous role at this moment, making his control over Dou Qi increasingly precise.
After sitting beside him for a while, Xiao Xun'er saw that he had entered a state of deep cultivation and decided not to disturb him. Supporting her waist, she slowly stood up and walked back into the room.
Only Lu Changfeng remained in the courtyard, sitting cross-legged as the surrounding energy of heaven and earth began gathering toward him.
After an unknown amount of time, a system notification suddenly sounded in Lu Changfeng's mind.
[Detected that the host has cultivated continuously for one hour. Calculating cultivation gains.] [Congratulations to the host on obtaining the refining method for the eighth-tier pill, the White Tiger Mysterious Pill. Consuming this pill can help a Da Dou Shi cultivator advance to the maximum level.]
Upon seeing this notification, Lu Changfeng slowly opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth lifting into a faint smile.
The refining method for the eighth-tier pill, the White Tiger Mysterious Pill-since he was already a Nine-Star Dou Sheng, this sort of pill was of little use to him personally.
But he could keep something like this for Xiao Xun'er to use later. It could take her, currently a Da Dou Shi, straight to the maximum level. If such a pill were put up for auction, it would probably fetch a considerable price.
Besides, it might come in handy for something else later. In any case, having one more pill recipe was no bad thing.
After committing the contents of the pill recipe to memory, Lu Changfeng closed his eyes again and continued cultivating.
What I need most now is to reach Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint as soon as possible. Only then will I truly have the confidence to face Gu Yuan.
Once I reach that level, even if Gu Yuan comes in person, Xiao Xun'er won't need to worry about me anymore!